Artist: Nancy Young

Exhibition: As The Crow Flies

Media: printed paper, non toxic ink, metal, wood, mixed media

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery

Website: None

Instagram: None

About the Artist:
Nancy Young is a graduate student in the CSULB School of Art BFA Printmaking Program. Young’s passion for printmaking began when she took her first printmaking class and after that she was in love with it. Despite her rocky start in the university in 1984, when she was “disqualified for failing grades as a result of co-occurring bipolar and substance abuse disorder,” she is in her last year accomplishing her dreams that she had set her mind to since the very beginning. Young stated that it has definitely been harder to be in school at a much older age because work and other things get in the way. Young works for the County of Orange as a database and programer, and is not looking to make money off of her artwork. She simply sees a degree in art as something that is always valuable in a person. Other than doing art she also enjoys to listen to music and spending time with her dog.

Formal Analysis:

The artwork that I decided to analyse for the last time is one of Nancy Young’s prints. The print is roughly the size of a piece of paper turned horizontally. The image printed is of a black crow standing on a piece of wood. In the background there is a mix of pink, yellow, and gray that make up what appears to be the sky. The image was really stunning filled with so much detail. The crow is black and it looks very life like. The whole image portrays a sense of loneliness but at the same time peacefulness and calmness.

Content Analysis:

Nancy Young’s inspiration stems out from her own personal life and the crow is a metaphor of herself and others who might find themselves in similar situations. She mentioned that her art deals with personal issues such as the death of her husband. The crow goes through a journey starting in Nancy Young’s class at CSULB and ending at her by her work in Santa Monica. On the bottom of each print she wrote the distance that she was from where she started. The type of ink that Young uses is non-toxic which is something that she feels very proud of because most of printmaking ink is and it is really dangerous.

Synthesis/ My Experience:

This week’s art gallery took me on a flight with Nancy Young and it was spectacular. She is really passionate about what she does and it is really clear that she does it because she loves it. I really enjoyed the fact that she talked about the process of printmaking and she had the tools there to show us. We got to see the steps she took to create her art pieces that she had on display. I am honored to have had this passionate artist as my last artist conversation, I am certain that she will make it very far and I know this will not be the last time I will see one of her prints on display.

]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/wk15-artist-conversation-nancy-young/feed/0jhonatan2016img_1465img_1468img_1471img_1469img_1470img_1472img_1475Wk15- Classmate Conversation- Tareena Woodshttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/wk15-classmate-conversation-tareena-woods/
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For my last classmate conversation I had the honor to have talked with Tareena Woods. Tareena Woods is a Freshman at California State University Long Beach, pursuing a film major.She hopes that someday she will be able to produce her own films or to be a film editor. Tareena lives in Buena Park with her dad and her uncle. The drive from her home to school is 20 minutes away which is pretty convenient for her.In her free time, she loves to hang out with her friends and family, go to the beach, watch Netflix, listen to music, read, do community service, and explore museums. Tareena also loves food, and likes to be adventurous and try new foods. Her favorite foods are tacos, ice cream, KBBQ, and Acai Bowls. Tareena has a dog named Dexter, whom she loves very much. Dexter is a Shiba Inu and will be turning two years old this summer. Tareena is really into art but said that she, “suck at doing my own”. Her favorite type of art form are films and also photography. Tareena loves documenting her life, so you will most likely always see her taking videos or snapping pictures. Tareena was very kind and it was great getting to speak with her for my last classmate conversation. ]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/wk15-classmate-conversation-tareena-woods/feed/0jhonatan2016Wk14- Art Experience- Sketchinghttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/wk14-art-experience-sketching/
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This week’s art experience was sketching six drawings in the CSULB Japanese Garden. Three of the sketches had to be representational and the other three abstract. Aside from the sketches we also had to take six pictures in the same manner. My focus was only nature because I wanted to capture the natural beauty of the place and not be distracted by anything else. This activity has probably been the most traditional type of art that we have done all this semester and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to do some sketching and just enjoy the scenery at the Japanese Garden. Sketching tends to calm me down and when I feel stress, it really soothes me. As finals approach I felt that this assignment couldn’t of come at a better time. I am a little disappointed at myself because I know that I could of had done a much better job in my sketches but the time did not allow. If I would have only need it three sketches I think the quality of each would be better. Overall, I really enjoyed this activity a lot.

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]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/wk14-art-experience-sketching/feed/0jhonatan2016img_1439img_1440img_1441img_1442img_1443img_1444img_1416img_1418img_1419img_1429img_1420img_1427Wk14- Art Experience Feedbackhttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/wk14-art-experience-feedback/
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From all the activities we did this semester my top three were landscape with a corpse, moonbase alpha, and the art care package. I really liked landscape with a corpse because the way one is going to die is normally not something people constantly think about. I thought it was really cool to think about that and to see others interpretations of their deaths. I never really saw death as an art form and it turned out to be a great experience. Moonbase alpha was one of my favorites because we got to make up a character and create a whole story about that character. Everyone’s characters were interconnected in some form or another and it created a bigger story. I really like fiction and this assignment allowed me room to use my creativity. The art care package was also one of my favorite assignments because we had the opportunity to share something with someone else rather than just with ourselves. I know personally, that I tried really hard to make something special for the person I got. I felt really glad also when I received mine in the mail.
Although there was not a single art experience that I did not like, I did have some that were my least favorite. This included the plaster casting, automatic drawing and instagram. Although the intended purpose of the plaster casting was great, the execution was not. The assignment was probably the most expensive out of all of them and the messiest. I still have a lot of extra mix to make a mold. The automatic drawing I felt that did not work at all till this day. For all of those that say it worked I think they are lying because it felt that I was forcing the pencil to move and it was not moving by itself. For the instagram activity I found it a little annoying maybe to others that I fallow because of the amount of posts I did. I feel that since I am that way others are the same. I am also mad because the are the least liked post I have on my account.
Overall, I found the class to have been great and a fun experience. I meet new people and developed friendships with them and I hope that they will go well beyond just this class. I was disappointed to hear that this class will just be an online course next semester because students will miss this kind of environment. At the sametime I am grateful that I got to experience it.

]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/wk14-art-experience-feedback/feed/0jhonatan2016img_0969img_1244img_1406img_1302img_1236img_0995Extra Credit- Geocachinghttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/extra-credit-geocaching/
https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/extra-credit-geocaching/#respondSun, 01 May 2016 23:17:42 +0000http://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/?p=415Continue reading Extra Credit- Geocaching→]]>For the extra credit I went with the same group I went to do the geocaching activity with on week twelve. We only went to one together because we did not really have too much time after class on tuesday. Luckily the geocache was really close to where we were. The geocache was on campus underneath one of the newspaper boxes. The geocache had been placed there by Tyler Kedis. We got the coordinates and followed it to a newspaper box by the art galleries. The box was an Altoids mint box and was being held in place with a magnet. If I would of had more time I would have definitely searched for more to get more points. ]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/extra-credit-geocaching/feed/0jhonatan2016Wk13- Artist Conversation- Nick Bamfordhttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-artist-conversation-nick-bamford/
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Info Block:

Artist: Nick Bamford

Exhibition:

Media: clay, plaster, foam, found objects, mixed media

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov Gallery East

Website: None ( under construction)

Instagram: nickbamf4d

About the Artist:

Nick Bamford is an undergraduate student at Long Beach State University. He is in the BFA for Ceramics Program in the CSULB School of Art. Bamford grew up in Huntington Beach and it was there where he discovered his passion for art. When he was in high school, he took his first ceramics class and realized he loved it. Growing up, Bamford always enjoyed art and knew that when he grew older he knew he wanted to follow his dream and make art. For graduate school he would like to go to UCLA.

Formal Analysis:

The art piece that I decided to analyze is by Nick Bamford. The piece consist of different objects put together with black lights. The structure was very tall and it was being all held together by a piece of wood at the bottom. On the piece of wood there was a doll toy with it’s head torn off. The sculpture was topped off with wings that appeared to have belonged to a once alive bird. The sculpture also has an old shoe with a bird in it. The piece was very interesting to look at especially under the black lights.

Content Analysis:

Nick Bamford’s work consist of different personal items that he has collected and puts them together to create his work. His work shows the cycle of growth and decay because some of the items are old but he is doing something new with it. He gives the items a new purpose in his work. The black lights serve to bring in a different dimension to his art instead of the traditional art.

Synthesis/ My Experience:

This week’s gallery was really interesting and very different than from what we have previously seen. The black lights were very cool in the exhibition and it allowed the art to be the focal point in the room. I definitely enjoyed walking around looking at all of the different kinds of things that made up each sculpture and hearing from the artist.

]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-artist-conversation-nick-bamford/feed/0jhonatan2016Wk13- Classmate Conversation- Valentina Ramirez- Elorzahttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-classmate-conversation-valentina-ramirez-elorza/
https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-classmate-conversation-valentina-ramirez-elorza/#respondMon, 25 Apr 2016 04:29:23 +0000http://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/?p=394Continue reading Wk13- Classmate Conversation- Valentina Ramirez- Elorza→]]>I met Valentina Ramirez the week when we had to create a video for this class and it was nice to have her be part of it. This week I finally asked her to be my classmate for the conversation and she kindly said yes. Valentina Ramirez is a 22 years old senior at CSULB. She is a 4th years and will be graduating this semester. She is majoring in Sociology and Child Development. She is also obtaining a minor in Family Studies. After this semester she is planning on going to a police academy to become a police officer. Valentina choose California State University Long Beach because it was affordable and because she wanted to stay close to her family. Valentina is happily married, but she does not have have any kids yet. She has two dogs which she loves very much. In her spare time, she likes watching UFC and spending time with her family. It was awesome getting to know Valentina and I think others in the class should get to know her as well. ]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-classmate-conversation-valentina-ramirez-elorza/feed/0jhonatan2016IMG_1391Wk13- Art Experience- Art Care Package (ACP)https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-art-experience-art-care-package-acp/
https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-art-experience-art-care-package-acp/#respondMon, 25 Apr 2016 04:23:04 +0000http://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/?p=387Continue reading Wk13- Art Experience- Art Care Package (ACP)→]]>This week for our art experience we had to make an art care package to a classmate. The person I got was Domenique Gomez. I decided to share with her some of my favorite pieces of art by some really well known artists. Since I like classical art, the whole scheme of the project carried that classical theme throughout. I made copies of the artworks and added a pastel color paper in the background. I wanted to keep the colors very settled and also very girly. I also added a few little diamonds throughout to add some extra elegance. My hope is that the things I sent her would serve her to create art, like for example a collage. I handmade everything and now I just hope that she likes it. The activity was actually pretty fun because it allowed me to get creative.]]>https://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/wk13-art-experience-art-care-package-acp/feed/0jhonatan2016Wk12- Artist Conversation- Tiffany Lehttps://jhonatan2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/17/wk12-artist-conversation-tiffany-le/
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Info Block:

Artist: Tiffany Le

Exhibition: Tàu

Media: canvas,printed paper,ink,charcoal, watercolor, mixed media

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Dennis W. Dutzi Gallery

Instagram: lettealeaf

About the Artist:

Tiffany Le is a Vietnamese- American artist. She is in her last semester as a graduate student in the CSULB School of Art MFA Illustration Program. Le was born and raised in Garden Grove, California and has been doing art since a very young age. Since the age of three she had been doing art by tracing and copying the images from cereal boxes. Le loves doing Japanese fencing but she has not had any luck finding the team on the CSULB campus. In her free time she likes to take care of her bunnies and take pictures of them. In the future after graduate school, she is hoping to find a studio to continue her work. .

Formal Analysis:

The artwork that I decided to analyze this week was one of Tiffany Le’s paintings on a small canvas. The image is of two green rats in what appears to be a really dark space. The two rats are back to back and are the only things with color on the image. They are painted green and have light pink ears and tails. The rats appear to be standing in water probably frightened. On the background there is six rat traps with dead rats that are black. There is a dim light coming down on the center of the image and its the only sort of light present. The light seems to be showing the rat traps because it is right on them. The artwork portrays a lot of emotion, almost making it difficult for me to describe.

Content Analysis:

Tiffany Le’s art stems from the lack of family history and cultural history as a Vietnamese. Her family would not share their personal stories and at school she would only be provided with “like two paragraphs, when they would cover the Vietnam War” She believes that “in America there is a censorship on Vietnamese history”. The desire to learn more about her family and Vietnamese culture lead her to create her gallery. In Vietnamese “tàu” means boat and it represents the refugees struggle and her family’s struggle to come to the US. The gallery particularly reflects on how Vietnamese do not really share their stories and their journey and exposes those stories and focuses on what they went through.

Synthesis/ My Experience:

This week’s gallery was really powerful and conveyed a great message about the Vietnamese immigrants that came to the US. It was like having a mini history lesson with visuals. Tiffany Le was really passionate about her work and it was really obvious by the stories she shared about her father and aunt. I definitely feel that her work really provides that voice that Vietnamese people do not have in America. I really enjoyed her work.

Gabriela Hernandez is a nineteen year old Sophomore who is currently undeclared. She mentioned that she is interested in pursuing a degree in Sociology or Psychology because she would like to become a counselor some day. Gabriela attended Jordan High School in North Long Beach and applied to a couple colleges and universities but ultimately ended up choosing CSULB because she wanted to stay near her family and friends. On her free time Gabriela likes to sleep, eat, or watch Netflix. Gabriela also likes to play volleyball and listen to all types of music, with the exception of country music. She said she “really dislikes country music”. She especially enjoys listening to Bruno Mars and Nirvana. Gabriela’s favorite color is black and her favorite type of food is Mexican. She explained that when it comes to food she just sticks to the comfort foods that she knows she already likes. But when I asked her if she would be willing to try a different type of food, she said she would be willing to try Italian food. When I asked her “what is something that people might think of you at first glance ?,” she responded that she thinks people get the wrong impression of her and that they immediately think that she is intimidating. She is a very charismatic person and it was a pleasure to speak to her.